At our club meeting yesterday, we were honored to have Mr. Nagappan Azoka, Past District Governor of D-2980 from Salem in Southern India, as he made a presentation on a Rotary India Literacy Mission [RILM] project that is changing the lives of thousands of students and families.

 

This all-India project has the goal of making 100% of India’s 1.2 billion residents literate in a few years. The project is being spearheaded by The Rotary India Foundation.
The RILM has five dimensions ~ T.E.A.C.H.

  • Teacher Support
  • E-Learning
  • Adult Literacy
  • Child Development
  • Happy Schools

The proposal was made that our club join in a Global Grant application to The Rotary Foundation [TRF] to fund the purchase of an E-Learning packet of hardware and software for 100 rural village schools in Rotary D-2980. Under the project each school would receive a computer, projector, television and software that would include the full school curriculum for Grades 1-8, teacher lesson plans, an English Dictionary and other auxiliary teaching resources. It is estimated that the E-Learning packet, which would include vendor training for teachers, would amount to $1,000 per school. The total project budget is estimated to be $120,000. Rotary D-2980 would be the Primary Host Sponsor and Mr. Azoka proposed that the Elmbrook Rotary Club be the Primary International Sponsor.

For the past five years our Elmbrook Rotary Foundation has funded various projects since 2009 at the Yercaud elementary school campus. Yercaud is a small rural town in the state of Tamil Nadu. Yercaud will be one of the 100 schools to be included in the E-Learning project. As Mr. Azoka explained, it was through our engagement with the school that inspired the Rotary Club in Yercaud and Rotary D-2980 to become engaged with the school. Subsequently it inspired Rotarians in D-2980 to join in the RILM and bring that literacy program to 100 rural village schools across D-2980. To accomplish this, D-2980 is planning to apply for a Global Grant from TRF. Rotary D-2980 will contribute $25,000.
We are pleased to note that Mr. Azoka is on the board of RILM covering all of India and on the board of one of the ten regions across India for the RILM.  His region covers the territory of D-2980, the fourth largest Rotary District in the world.

In his presentation he shared photographs of the completed projects at Yercaud School that we helped to fund. Those include four new classrooms, a new shower/toilet block, a new kitchen and dining hall, school desks and library books. 

In concluding his presentation, Mr. Azoka asked for that our club consider helping the 100 schools move to E-Learning technology that will eliminate the reliance upon blackboards and chalk as the medium for instruction. The proposal will be on the agenda for the next ERC International Committee meeting on August 7, 2014.

 

 
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